Thursday, 9 May 2013

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

FINAL RATING: ★★★☆/★★★★★

To venture in a world of The Iron Fey, you must proceed with this knowledge:

1. This is not a book about fairies like these:

Imagine evil - well, not all of them are evil- ELVES, so called FAERY or plural FAE.

2.
They don't have wings (well, most of them don't) and there are many of
them like dryads, goblins, gremlins, kelpies, ogres and so on and on.

3. In this world, faeries are not to be trusted! They will always go for favors and bargains and never-ever-never say "thank you" to FAE.

4. There is a neverending hate between Summer (Seelie) and Winter (Unseelie) court.

5.
There is one extremely annoying, stupid and idiotic heroine, but
nevertheless interesting (just ignore her and you will be fine).

6. You will without any doubt fall in love with two heroes - they will make you swoon.

Now this was interesting experience ♥ I love fey, they are my favorite paranormal creatures (and yes, i love and will always love evil fey ideas) and i love Julie Kagawa since her Blood of Eden series , which was fantastic!

I know this book was one of her earlier works, but i can't help but compare it to BoE series. While BoE has strong and kickass heroine, this series has weak and angsty one - and it really bothered me, which is why i gave it one star less. Still, it was quite interesting and it kept my attention so it was bearable to ignore Meghan. Well, i am overreacting - she wasn't that bad - she just bored me sometimes .

Alas, i heard that the other sequels get really and much better, so i am still having high expectations, while i lowered them for this one. But it surprised me and made me eager for more.

The world building was quite interesting. The Nevernever world was really well done and i love how Kagawa always describes the surroundings in quite a good amount of details. I could imagine everything perfectly and that is a big + from me. I just can't help but admire Kagawa's writing style ♥_♥.

And like every other young adult book - this one too has a love triangle. And i didn't mind it. God, what is happening to me, i used to hate love triangles! But here...it makes it even more difficult because there are Ash and Robin (aka Puck, which i will refer as Robin because its prettier) and i love them both.

The last 40% of the book i absolutely loved which is the reason i didn't give the first book less than 4 stars.

P.s. everytime Ash and Puck argue or fight, it reminds me of this:

STORY:

Once upon a time, there was a normal girl. She was living in a poor family, with her mother, stepfather and step brother. She had best friend who was always there for her.

Meghan chase thought she was normal, she lived normally, she has a good life, even though it sometimes wasn't kind. Her father disappeared when she was young and her mother married another. And gave birth to Ethan, Meghan's step brother.

She likes hanging out with Robbie, her best friend. He was always there for her, no matter what.

But when she finds out that her brother Ethan was kidnapped, and that a changeling was put in his place, she doesn't know what to do. She learns from Robbie that he was kidnapped by a Fey and that he can help her bring him back. But its so hard to believe in it - until he takes her to Nevernever, homeland to all Fey.

For those who took interest in faeries, then you heard of Seelie and Unseelie courts, some of the names like Mab, Oberon and Titania, the fairies' fear of iron and metal. And add all those supernatural creatures like dryads, goblins, gremlins, kelpies, ogres and so on.It's all in here, waiting for you to go and be sucked into it just like Meghan was.

CHARACTERS:

♦ Meghan:

The main character and narrator of this story. Once a normal girl, she finds out that she is not what she thought she was. She was never prepared for what would happen to her and it makes her miserable, sad and devastated. But she is not giving up - she would do anything to get people she loves back, even if it means making bad choices.

“Yeah, Mom, Ethan’s turned into a monster and my best friend thinks he’s a faery. How was your day?”

In a way, i understood Meghan, she was alone, she was afraid and it was all knew to her. And unknown. And it is scary when you are thrown in a world you know nothing of, and when you don't know the rules.

♦ Puck/Robin Goodfellow:

Robin was Meghan's best friend in our world - he is a fey and he was sent to protect Meghan. And he would do anything for Meghan. Even break the rules.

“I guess the sacrifice of my dignity is the only thing that will save us now. The things I endure for love. The Fates laugh at my torment.”

He was amazing character, extremely fun, sarcastic but not so kind either...especially to his enemies. I loved all his comments, and he made me laugh so many times and he was just awesome.

♦ Ash:

Ash, son of Mab, the queen of the Unseelie/Winter court. Ash, the third Unseelie prince and enemy to the Summer/Seelie court. Ash, the completely stubborn, sometimes evil SOB but also kind, brave and horrifically awesome.

“Combat doesn't have to be with swords... Emotions can be deadly weapons, and knowing your enemy's breaking point can be key to winning a battle.”

Ash... sigh... i am in love. At first, i kind of hated him, but as the story progressed i couldn't help but fall in love little, slowly and in the end completely.

♦ Grimalkin:

The true hero of the story for me would be Grimalkin the cat. Always there to make bargains, promises and save the day. And he keeps many many mysteries and secret...because...

"I am a cat," purred Grimalkin.

Sigh....why don't you turn into a sexy prince so i can fall in love with you too?

♦ Everyone else:

Oberon => meeeeeeeeeeeeeh, you didn't give me enough reason to like you.Titania => erm... *coughbitchcough*Mab => you are not better than them either...but we shall see :PEthan => cuuuuuuuuuuute ♥

and the rest bla bla bla.... too tired to write and i would just spoil the story.

OVERALL:

Loved it. I love everything related to fairies and this was nice addition to my fairy mania. Anyway, i look forward to other books and for more Ash and Puck ♥